Introducing The Galaxy Nexus, Google’s ICS Flagship Smartphone

Much hype surrounds Android’s newest OS version; Ice Cream Sandwich. Ever since it was first unveiled, Android lovers have waited as patiently as possible for the introduction of a new flagship device from Google. The wait is finally over and Google’s Galaxy Nexus — a new Android smartphone designed around Android’s newest version — Ice Cream Sandwich is here.

The flagship device program from Google began in 2008 and has shown us how much Android has evolved and improved in such a short time. Reviews are in on the new Galaxy Nexus and it is shaping up to be quite an impressive looking piece of hardware.

One of the first things that will catch your eye with the Galaxy Nexus is its massive 4.65-inch display, one of the largest screens that smartphones have to offer. Nearly every square inch of the phone’s face is devoted to the fine glass construction of the screen. Android smartphone users finally achieve freedom from physical buttons with ICS and the Nexus hardware design. Instead, we have software keys that are the same set as seen in Android Honeycomb. The new virtual buttons are set at the bottom of the screen but can be shifted to the side if you tilt your phone into landscape mode, for example.

The ICS home screen looks amazing and the Galaxy Nexus’ 1280×720 Super AMOLED screen certainly is a large part of that magic. The screen delivers the crisp, clear quality that Samsung’s displays are known for.

The downside to the Galaxy Nexus is that Samsung tends to favor lightweight devices that are made of airy plastics and minimal exterior metal. For those of us that are a bit clumsy, a good protective case is likely going to be on your accessory list if you purchase the Galaxy Nexus.

Overall this smartphone certainly makes for great eye candy. Eye candy is great, but performance is obviously the key to a great phone. With a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM, power is certainly present in this flagship phone, and the improvements found in ICS certainly add to the experience. Additionally, the Nexus has a rear-facing camera that is certainly worth mentioning. On paper, 5MP doesn’t sound like much these days, but Google set out to focus on more than megapixels. By focusing on shutter speeds and response times between shots, you can easily fire off multiple shots in succession and the lag between photos that has become familiar for most smartphone users has pretty much become a thing of the past. A combination of quick response times and the ability to go from the lock screen to the camera app ensures of that we will never miss that perfect photo-op session ever again.

There is no question that the hardware looks impressive for the Galaxy Nexus. Beyond the hardware though, ICS offers us an experience that blends everything we’ve come to expect from Android tablets and smartphones into an elegant and powerful package. Between the performance of ICS and the elegance of the new flagship phone, it looks likely that the Galaxy Nexus is a success story in the making.